An opportunity to turn guns into garden tools
South Church is invited to collaborate with First Presbyterian Church in Yorktown for a Guns to Gardens event on Saturday 12/10/22 1- 4 PM.
If anyone is interested in participating in this modern version of “beating swords into plowshares” during this meaningful time of year, please let Pastor Margery Rossi know. “I would love for you to join me in this ministry,” she said, “and I do not in any way want anyone to feel pressured about this. It is an invitation, not a demand to support the thing that is important to me.”
There are 3 reasons for it to take place on December 10:
- Liturgically, the theme for the second week of Advent is “Peace” and the Hebrew Scripture reading of the day is usually one of Isaiah’s vision of “the peaceable kingdom.” This year, the reading is Isaiah 11:1-10.
- Wednesday 12/14/22 is the 10th anniversary of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which sparked the creation of advocacy groups such as Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Everytown for Gun Safety. Many groups across the nation are planning events to commemorate this incident.
- We are connecting with a network of congregations and organizations across the country who will hold these events at the same time, which means that this event can be publicized together with all the others, increasing exposure.
What is needed:
- Volunteers who are comfortable handling firearms to check them and ensure that they are unloaded. If it is loaded, the owner will not be allowed to bring it onto church property or have it disarmed that day.
- “Shepherds” who will accompany gun owners through the process, to hear whatever stories they want to share and provide a pastoral presence.
- Volunteers who are trained and able to use a chopsaw to chop the firearms.
- Prior to the event, we will need assistance with publicity and setting up the logistics.
Read more: https://www.presbypeacefellowship.org/gun-violence/
